They may not have found Atlantis yet, but another sunken city has been found. Like Atlantis, this city also inspired a myth. An island that was partly submerged off the coast of the Ile de Sein of France gave the Brittany region its own local lore for thousands of years.
It was here that marine
archaeologists spotted the remains of a 7,000-year-old wall about 30 feet below
the surface. It belonged to a stone age civilization and is thought to have
been one of two things; either a fence to collect fish or a dike built to
protect against rising waves.
LIDAR data found eleven
structures at the bottom of the ocean. Sea level data reflecting changes in the
sea level and vertical land movement indicate they dated back to between 5,800
and 5,300 BCE. This was a time of transition from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle
to permanent settlements. At that time, the shoreline was several miles out to
sea.
This find predates the
first Neolithic megaliths in Brittany by at least 500 years. But little
archaeological work has been done in the deep areas of the Brittany coast
because of difficulties in accessing such sites.
Shell middens near the
short and megaliths further out give evidence of coastal human populations in
the region, but the ocean has not given up many artifacts. Fragments of this
wall weigh 3,300 metric tons, which might support the idea that it was built to
prevent flooding when the sea level rose.
Whatever the purpose of
this wall, it was designed to withstand storms and erosion. Standing stones
within the structure are similar to others found in inland Brittany and parts
of Stonehenge, the largest being nearly 10 feet high. This structure’s
arrangement of monoliths, slabs, blocks, and boulders suggests a complex
architecture, which has not been found in nearby fish fences. The community
that built the megalith must have had technical skill and social organization.
There may also be a
link to the City of Ys, which involves a Breton legend passed down through
centuries by oral tradition. Ys is thought to have been submerged in the Bay of
Douarnenez, which is just east of Ile de Sein. So this legendary city might
have actually existed in prehistory.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/archaeologists-found-evidence-of-a-7-000-year-old-sunken-city/ar-AA1SBj2I?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=69446e95433043ca8ed260af6652d221&ei=28
